Flooded while traveling

[lyndaadams]

2014 /25 ft RT
We left this morning and I forgot to switch off the water pump. About 90 mins on the road we stopped to use the bathroom on board. All was well. Again, neglected to switch off the pump.
Arrived at our destination after 3 hrs land traveling over 4,100 ft elevation. Get out of the truck and water is spilling out from the coach. Opened the door and the sink was overflowing with warm water, floors in galley, bedroom underwater! It looked like an scene from the Poseidon Adventure.
Nothing was running from the faucet when discovered. I think what ever remained in the fresh water tank was now all over the interior.
I don’t know how the faucet got turned on?
Is it physics? The altitude pressure vs. the water pump?
We mopped all visible water. Furnace and fans blasting! Storage doors on the floor level open. What next? How much damage have I done? 🤢

[rmkrum]

Dry it out quickly and it will probably be ok. It’s constant soaking that really screws stuff up.

[lyndaadams]

We’ve done our best and the forecast is for dry weather so we’ll Continue to dry it out.
Thanks for the encouragement .
Would love to know how the faucet got turned on? A real mystery��

[CRH]

I would get a box fan or two and run the heat and the AC at the same time. The AC will dry it out.

[GeeSag]

My theory is the inertia of the kitchen sink valve reacts to sudden bumps when driving.

Our experience was not as dramatic as yours. We left the cutting board in place over the kitchen sink preventing the water from going down the faucet. We luckily did have the water pump off, but did leak enough more than pleasant the pressure in the lines.

Similar: after driving down the road, pulled over and found water in the floor. Seems the kitchen sink valve had bumped enough to open.

We try not to travel with that cutting board in place. Fairly easy to remember.

We try to make sure our departure checklist includes checking to make sure the water pump is off. Easy to forget.

Seems like everyone would say, of course checking the water pump off is part of the standard departure checklist. But with so many campgrounds with city water, we actually use the water pump much less than expected, and so it becomes so easy to forget to make sure it gets checked since it so seldom used.

We fall prey to checklists are in our heads. Of course we have them printed..... and we rarely get the paper out to follow it.

It will be fun to see the thread comments about: Follow the printed paper checklist.....and then comments of how many actually do.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by lyndaadams

2014 /25 ft RT
We left this morning and I forgot to switch off the water pump. About 90 mins on the road we stopped to use the bathroom on board. All was well. Again, neglected to switch off the pump.
Arrived at our destination after 3 hrs land traveling over 4,100 ft elevation. Get out of the truck and water is spilling out from the coach. Opened the door and the sink was overflowing with warm water, floors in galley, bedroom underwater! It looked like an scene from the Poseidon Adventure.
Nothing was running from the faucet when discovered. I think what ever remained in the fresh water tank was now all over the interior.
I don’t know how the faucet got turned on?
Is it physics? The altitude pressure vs. the water pump?
We mopped all visible water. Furnace and fans blasting! Storage doors on the floor level open. What next? How much damage have I done? 🤢

What about the insulation under the floor? It will be holding water...research this....

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by GeeSag

Our experience was not as dramatic as yours. We left the cutting board in place over the kitchen sink preventing the water from going down the faucet.

A dual solution to that is to simply remove the cutting board cover, and stow it UNDER the side sofa cushion. That will also prevent the cover from flying off the sink, and possibly damaging something or being damaged. It also opens up the sink for storage of other things, such as the coffee maker. To prevent the coffee maker from marring the stainless steel interior of the sink, lay an old towel on the bottom of the sink.
Doing this will prevent the situation you experienced, as well as opening up a convenient storage location for something that normally contains some water, and preventing it from spilling enroute.

[rmkrum]

Others have drilled a nice big hole in the cutting board positioned to let the faucet drain into the hole, and make the board easier to use. Search forums for more data and pictures.

We usually store a bunch of soap, drain basket, and assorted stuff in the sink underway, so our cover lives in the sink cabinet most of the time. Have yet to use it as a cutting board.

There are days I’m tempted to add a relay to cut off the pump when the running lights are on. Since I drive with running lights on to power my backup camera, this would cut off the pump while underway. Yeah, more overkill but that’s how I roll.

[lyndaadams]

We never use the cutting board either. It’s stowed away. The sink had our dish rack and a bowl of fruit stored in the sink during travel. Of course if the pump had been off, none of this would have happened. Just don’t know how the sink got turned on?

When we arrived and looked inside, the sink was full to the brim! What was all over the counter and floor was from the faucet running continuously. Did the altitude have anything to do with pump vs water?

Today we travelled 7 hrs. The pump was off but a bit nervous, we kept checking inside the coach at every stop. The faucet was in a diff position each time!

[lyndaadams]

Thank you for the advice. We never use our cutting board and it’s kept stowed.
I know we shouldn’t leave the pump on and forgot twice to shut it down. I just don’t know how the faucet got turned on?

[lyndaadams]

Tjdonahoe

My worries exactly.
We’re following the advice of several posts- dry it out!

[FC7039]

Originally Posted by lyndaadams

We never use the cutting board either. It’s stowed away. The sink had our dish rack and a bowl of fruit stored in the sink during travel. Of course if the pump had been off, none of this would have happened. Just don’t know how the sink got turned on?



When we arrived and looked inside, the sink was full to the brim! What was all over the counter and floor was from the faucet running continuously. Did the altitude have anything to do with pump vs water?



Today we travelled 7 hrs. The pump was off but a bit nervous, we kept checking inside the coach at every stop. The faucet was in a diff position each time!

I don’t know they style of tap you have but is it possible something stowed in the sink bounced up and into the handle?

Lessons along they way. Use the thought of putting things into the sink as a reminder of the pump switch, not that you will ever need a reminder.

[lyndaadams]

Overlander 63
Thank you for your suggestions.
We don’t use or cutting board so it’s always stowed anyway.

[lyndaadams]

FC7039
Absolutely!

[Kevin245]

I would suggest a dehumidifier. Much more effective at pulling out moisture than the LPG fueled furnace.

[mimiandrews]

We fall prey to checklists are in our heads. Of course we have them printed..... and we rarely get the paper out to follow it.

It will be fun to see the thread comments about: Follow the printed paper checklist.....and then comments of how many actually do.

Try using the checklist in your head first, then read through the paper version as a backup. It's a check list, not a do list. That's the way it's done in airline cockpits. When the checklist is read, every item on it should already be done.

Not long ago, I almost forgot to run my checklist before departing with my Safari in tow. A lifetime of checklist discipline made me pull it out and read through it at the last minute. Sure enough,I had forgotten to load the spare tire. For a minute, I considered going without it, but I did the right thing and took the time to load the spare into the truck.

That very day, a "road hazard" cut up the tread on the curbside tire on my single-axle Airstream. Lesson learned.